Published 4:00 am, Friday, March 15, 1996

The talk about the new romantic comedy "Two Much" is that stars Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith fell into real-life love on the Miami set and haven't yet come up for air.

But sometimes big-screen art, even the second-rate stuff, marches to a different beating heart.

In "Two Much," opening today, Banderas actually hankers more passionately for Daryl Hannah, who plays Griffith's sister in a strained, screwball-style story about one libidinous guy fanning flames with two willing women by pretending he has a twin brother.

The film by Spanish director Fernando Trueba ("Belle Epoque") almost overcomes occasionally jarring unevenness and saggy spots to emerge as a charmer. It's a big "almost."

"Two Much" is too much in terms of formula shtick, and at 100 minutes it feels overlong. The film's all-important antic rhythm is weighed down by gooey romantic scenes that belong in another movie.

Banderas, though, is a big surprise as a physical funnyman. He plays a flaky art dealer named Art whose gallery has fallen on hard times. With creditors in pursuit, he's taken to using his sad puppy eyes to scam rich widows.

One such con lands him in the company of Betty Kerner (Griffith), a sex kitten divorced from mobster Gene Palletto (a deadpan Danny Aiello). The encounter promises double heaven for Art. The cooing Betty is eager for love and she's disgustingly rich, with a sprawling Biscayne Bay mansion and a Rolls rag top.

Although Art flies eagerly into her heart, and bed, he's soon attracted to Betty's more refined, less flashy sister Liz (Hannah). The trap opens. While Betty is hatching detailed, no-exit plans for a big nuptial day, Art is leching after Liz.

In desperation, Art loosens his ponytail, dons wire-rim glasses and invents a twin brother, Bart, who blows into town from his artist's retreat in Italy and puts the moves on a willing, lonely Liz.

Timing is everything in these disguise come dies ("Some Like It Hot" and "Tootsie" are classics of the genre), and it's what "Two Much" fails to deliver. But when the film clicks, it's a romp.

Banderas barely winces in sending up his macho image. In one sequence, he wakes with each femme in opposite wings of the house, then scurries back and forth between the two. The setup, with a swimming pool in his path, is a riotous bit only a true clown could pull off.

While Banderas is interesting, Griffith and Hannah are dull. Griffith grows truly tiresome with her overdone lipstick, overexposed cleavage and high-pitched Betty Boop whine. Hannah is striking but blank throughout.

Joan Cusack ("Nine Months") steals the show in a supporting role. She has the best lines, delivers them deftly and plays a bemused art gallery assistant with rare comic relish.

Eli Wallach plays Art's eccentric father, but the pairing seems out of kilter because Wallach has no Spanish accent.

The film uses Miami well as an exotic location, and a sound track featuring Latin sounds is a plus, though every time fingers start snapping, the music fades. Renting the video down the road is the smart choice.